AP correspondent speaks at Elon on Vatican reporting

By Natalie Allison Janicello / Times-News

Published: Sunday, April 6, 2014 at 09:16 PM.

ELON — Taking a break from her reporting duties in Rome, Nicole Winfield, Vatican correspondent for the Associated Press, spoke to Elon University students and a handful of faculty and community members Friday about covering the Holy See.

Winfield has been based in Rome since 2001, and has been responsible for covering the last three popes: Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. Among her duties, Winfield, along with other reporters in the Vatican press corps, has traveled with the popes and sat in on portions of meetings they’ve had with world leaders.

“When religion and media intersect, it can be a very fraught affair,” said Winfield, who identifies as a “born and raised” Catholic. “Tensions are high. There are 1.2 billion people out there for whom the pope is the vicar of Christ on Earth.”

Winfield described the Vatican as not being an “open place for reporters,” but added that the Associated Press has earned its respect and usually has a guaranteed spot at Vatican events in which press credentials are limited — such as Pope Francis’ 12-hour plane ride back from Rio de Janeiro, which accommodated a couple dozen reporters.

She said unlike previous press conferences with other popes, Francis answered every single reporter’s questions without dodging any. It was during that flight, Winfield said, that Francis made the comment “Who am I to judge?” when asked about one of his advisers allegedly being involved in a gay sex scandal.

Winfield said that line has “pretty much defined his papacy,” though it was misconstrued by many to make Francis seem like something other than a conservative Catholic, which Winfield said he is.

She talked about the dynamics of Francis adjusting to the papacy with the retired Benedict continuing to serve as pope emeritus and taking on an increasingly prominent role, per Francis’ wishes.

ELON — Taking a break from her reporting duties in Rome, Nicole Winfield, Vatican correspondent for the Associated Press, spoke to Elon University students and a handful of faculty and community members Friday about covering the Holy See.

Winfield has been based in Rome since 2001, and has been responsible for covering the last three popes: Francis, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. Among her duties, Winfield, along with other reporters in the Vatican press corps, has traveled with the popes and sat in on portions of meetings they’ve had with world leaders.

“When religion and media intersect, it can be a very fraught affair,” said Winfield, who identifies as a “born and raised” Catholic. “Tensions are high. There are 1.2 billion people out there for whom the pope is the vicar of Christ on Earth.”

Winfield described the Vatican as not being an “open place for reporters,” but added that the Associated Press has earned its respect and usually has a guaranteed spot at Vatican events in which press credentials are limited — such as Pope Francis’ 12-hour plane ride back from Rio de Janeiro, which accommodated a couple dozen reporters.

She said unlike previous press conferences with other popes, Francis answered every single reporter’s questions without dodging any. It was during that flight, Winfield said, that Francis made the comment “Who am I to judge?” when asked about one of his advisers allegedly being involved in a gay sex scandal.

Winfield said that line has “pretty much defined his papacy,” though it was misconstrued by many to make Francis seem like something other than a conservative Catholic, which Winfield said he is.

She talked about the dynamics of Francis adjusting to the papacy with the retired Benedict continuing to serve as pope emeritus and taking on an increasingly prominent role, per Francis’ wishes.

Winfield discussed differences in the popes, including Benedict’s shyness as a former professor versus Francis’ past in Argentina working with prisoners, prostitutes and the poor, which “formed him as a person, as a priest and now as pope.”

Nicole Winfield, the sister of Pamela Winfield, a religious studies professor at Elon University, gave the guest lecture in Whitley Auditorium. The event was sponsored by the School of Communications and Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.